floresne

It’s basically just another week in Austin, except with L.A.-types walking around, talking on their cell phones, and a smattering of celebrities running about. Seriously. Any given night of the year in Austin you can see great music and watch indie flicks at a multitude of places without dealing with all the BS that comes along with SXSW.

I usually venture out to see a band or two during the festival but dealing w/ the crowds + paying $20 cover is just not my thing and frankly, it’s not very Austin-y.

L.A. was tight. Once I got out there i realized that all of the bad things I had heard about L.A. were things I had heard my New Yorker friends say about it. Figures.

It’s like Houston, but with more gangs, cooler commerce & architecture, better weather, and OMG, beaches…...also I noticed that people get very dressed up in Los Angeles, which is cool. Too many girls were wearing the exact same skinny jeans/Ugg boots combo, though, when I visited in December.

I might get to run a marathon in Anchorage, if I raise enough $. We’ll see.

It is one of America’s truly great cities (meaning, it’s got personality). A very, very cool place with lots to do and see, and the locals are very appreciative of the tourists, so go check it out.

Kinda wrote about P-tizzle in my Oregon entry, but here goes: had a great downtown area with lots of commerce, people out and about, things to do and see. Loved loved loved the public tranny situation out there, and the fact that the city is so pedestrian and biker friendly. The drivers are very courteous and the people are very polite. Despite the multitude of t*&%^y bars and dives the town is kinda quiet, esp. on Sunday. Didn’t particularly like that. Otherwise, it seemed like a great place to live. Oh yeah, the downtown area had plenty of amenities for the condo-dwelling set, a definite plus.

I certainly ran into it enough times on my recent trip to the Pacific NW. Someday I would like to hike portions of it. I’m thinking this is more of a “43 Things” entry now, so I’m going to remove it.

Going here for Thanksgiving…so excited! I grew up in Houston so I have no idea what my excuse is for never having gone, but now I am really feeling that I am going to be helping with the economic recovery of the city by spending my holiday there.

Every bit as beautiful and as hip as San Francisco, my favorite city. Then again, I was lucky to be there when it was sunny and in the 70s for the most part, but regardless there is just no beating that combination of the Cascades and the bay. And there is so much to do and see there, plus many lovely neighborhoods with access to parks and public transportation. While I was there I couldn’t stop daydreaming about living in Queen Anne or Belltown and stooping into a coffeeshop on a rainy Saturday afternoon with a book or a good friend…I think I could learn to live with the gloomy weather. Maybe.

We drove all over the state: started in Portland after spending several days there, drove through the wine country on the way out to the coast, then down to Eugene for the night, on to Crater Lake the next morning and then back to Portland that night. It was maybe a bit rushed but then again I got to see everything I really wanted to see. My favorite memories are of walking on Oswald State Beach and digging my toes into the sand and of seeing Crater Lake. The one thing I did not like about Oregon were it’s lame alcohol laws…no one under 21 in the Laurelhurst Theatre C’mon.

It was damn cold when we went (first week of October) but so absolutely worth it to see that deep blue water. Some day I want to go back and stay at the lodge, and just sit in the rocking chairs out back and read all day. Sigh